Obtaining a UK Family Visa After Refusal

Sometimes spouses grow apart after many years together. This is what happened to Carry, my wife, and me. She left for the UK, her home country, with our children. I wanted to spend time with my son and daughter, so I decided to relocate too. I did not expect to get a visa refusal. Luckily, I found positive reviews about Imperial & Legal online.

David, a 46-year-old

Businessman from the US

Clients’ names and photos have been changed

David is a successful real estate broker from Boston. He started out as an ordinary real estate agent, but since then has grown into a professional who is entrusted with large deals on commercial real estate. He met his wife Carry when he just started his career. She came from Manchester to take a course at the Massachusetts College of Design and Art. David helped her to find accommodation, they got to know each other, and she stayed in the USA with him after her studies.

Their love story was beautiful: two remarkable individuals attracted attention thanks to their passion and flamboyant energy. As time passed, their passion evolved into warm and comfortable feeling of mutual understanding and trust. They got married with two kids: delicate blue-eyed girl Camilla and noisy naughty boy Tom who came five years later. At first, their family life was light and trouble-free. Children made it a bit more complicated, but it was worth it.

Fourteen years passed, and David and Carry became more distant. They thought that they were simply too tired and overworked and lacked emotional contact. However, their attempt to revive the feelings during a romantic trip failed. The break-up seemed inevitable. Carry was not giving up and decided to give it a break – she took both children and went to see her parents in the UK. Though it came as a blow for David, he wanted no scandals, and after a series of tough talks, they agreed that Camilla and Tom would live with their mom and David would come to visit them. 

David came to the UK several times to see his children and looked for a way to move closer to them. It was evident that if he relocated to the UK, he would lose his position and salary, but he finally made a choice in favour of his children.

David started preparing for immigration after he received a job offer from one of his old clients. He applied for a long-term family visa but got refused. After that, he contacted Imperial & Legal. 

Our client

David, 46 years old, from the USA. Married to a British citizen, with two children. Separated but not officially divorced from his wife.

Goal

Temporary or permanent relocation to the UK allowing an unlimited stay in the country to take part in the children’s upbringing.

Solution

First of all, Imperial & Legal immigration advisors found out why the application was refused. The Home Office gave their reasons in the refusal letter. In David’s case, they were of a legal nature. David had applied to come to the UK to reunite with his children living in the UK. However, since he and Carry were technically still married, the immigration authorities refused the visa saying that David should have applied for a UK Spouse visa. They did not know that David would not live with his wife in the UK. They were separated, so they simply would not have passed the genuineness check. 

Other visa options were considered. When David applied for a visa, he stayed in the UK on a UK Standard Visitor visa. But after refusal, he could not extend his current visa because the Home Office would suspect him of being an illegal immigrant. He also could not apply for a UK Skilled Worker visa. Though he was offered a job, his employer was not going to resolve his immigration issues. In fact, he was offered a job on the basis of him getting a UK visa first. 

Considering all the factors, our advisors decided to appeal the Home Office’s refusal referring to the European Convention for Human Rights. It says that children must not suffer if their parents do not live together, especially if both parents want to take part in their upbringing and just need some legal help to do this.  

Our experts lodged a detailed appeal to the First-Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. It usually takes from six to nine months to review and resolve such cases. David, however, really wanted to get his visa as soon as possible to relocate to the UK and spend time with his children. To facilitate the process, Imperial & Legal immigration advisors obtained the case registration number and sent a request to the Home Office for the case to be reviewed without a trial. It was submitted in the appeal that children’s interests must be considered first even if their parents failed to divorce. 

A ruling was issued in two weeks. David got his UK visa. His immigration record was cleared.

Conclusion

Visa refusal does not necessarily put an end to your plans. You must always defend your rights and interests. There are several ways of turning the situation to your own advantage:

1. You can apply for an administrative review if you are sure that there was a mistake and the Home Office missed or misinterpreted some important facts. In this case, you do not need to add any additional documents to your original application. 
2. You can lodge an appeal if you do not agree with the refusal and think that it is a violation of human rights, British law, discrimination or some other grave offence. For this type of appeal, you must provide additional documents. The case is again reviewed by a caseworker. It is sometimes enough to resolve the case, as it was with David. If it does not, the appeal goes to the First-Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
3. You can re-apply for a UK visa. It is sometimes quicker and easier to collect a new package of documents with previous mistakes in mind. You can re-apply as many times as you want. Still, if you once get refused, it is better to contact immigration advisors not to make the same mistake again.

Imperial & Legal immigration advisors work with the most complicated cases. We help our clients obtain UK visas fast and hassle-free.